Castillo, Chavis among 16 spring camp NRIs

BOSTON -- The Red Sox announced 16 non-roster invitees to Spring Training on Tuesday, including outfielder Rusney Castillo, who will once again try to work his way back on the radar.

Infielder Michael Chavis will be in Major League camp for the first time in hopes of building off his monster 2017 season, in which he belted 31 homers and had 94 RBIs split between Class A Advanced Salem and Double-A Portland. Chavis is ranked No. 2 among Red Sox prospects by MLB Pipeline.

BOSTON -- The Red Sox announced 16 non-roster invitees to Spring Training on Tuesday, including outfielder Rusney Castillo, who will once again try to work his way back on the radar.

Infielder Michael Chavis will be in Major League camp for the first time in hopes of building off his monster 2017 season, in which he belted 31 homers and had 94 RBIs split between Class A Advanced Salem and Double-A Portland. Chavis is ranked No. 2 among Red Sox prospects by MLB Pipeline.

Castillo, who is from Cuba, was signed to a seven-year, $72.5 million contract with the Red Sox in August 2014. But the right-handed hitter has spent most of his time in the Minor Leagues and hasn't played for the Red Sox since June 16, 2016. He was taken off the 40-man roster shortly after that.

Though Castillo had a solid 2017 season for Triple-A Pawtucket (.314/.350.507, 15 homers), he is blocked by Boston's loaded outfield of Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts.

Castillo is still owed $35.5 million over the next three seasons. One complication for the Red Sox is that by putting Castillo back on the 40-man roster, it means that his salary would then be factored into Boston's luxury-tax calculations.

Perhaps the best-case scenario would be for the 30-year-old Castillo to have a strong Spring Training and then get traded to a team that has a need in the outfield.

The Red Sox look forward to being able to get a closer look at Chavis this spring. The 22-year-old slugger was named 2017 Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year in 2017. He hit three home runs on April 19 against Wilmington, including a walk-off, two-run shot that gave Salem a 7-6 win.

Selected 26th overall by the Red Sox in the 2014 Draft, Chavis also helped Peoria win the 2017 Arizona Fall League title by hitting four home runs and ranking among the league leaders in several offensive categories.

De La Guerra (No. 23) and Martin (No. 25) are the other two invitees who are ranked among Boston's Top 30 Prospects by MLB Pipeline.

A Carolina League All-Star in 2017, De La Guerra hit .283 with 31 doubles, nine homers, 81 runs and a .361 on-base percentage in a season split between Salem and Portland. This is the third consecutive Major League camp for Martin, who made two appearances for the Red Sox last season, including a scoreless inning in his debut on July 20.